Mr. Truth wrote on Dec 29
th, 2007 at 4:03am:
Jester,
What does any of this have to do with the lie behind the lie detector? Your issue is process related, has nothing to do whatsoever with the efficacy of polygraphy.
Committing a sex offense has quite a bit to do with exercising power and control over the victim (and others, for that matter). Being on probation/parole is still about power control: the fact that you now have none to very little. That is the reality of the situation you put yourself in. How hard would it have been for you to call the polygrapher the day before to confirm receipt of your history questionaire? No sympathy here whatsoever.
And for what it's worth, this is coming from a sex offender, and I've certainly seen my share of incompetent state employees (and a few really, really good people who cared about me and took a personal interest). So what if a judge was sympathetic to your cause/case? You may not ever have any other dealings with that person. You will, however, be face to face with treatment providers and probation officers until the day your court ordered supervision ends.
I seriously doubt if any court will ever grant early termination. That is too much of a risk to take. The first person released early who re-offends is going to come back to haunt the legal system for all eternity. Of all of the probationers I saw during my time, I would have to say that I was a prime candidate for early release. As soon as I brought it up to probation department, boom, I'm wearing an ankle bracelet for something I reported - over six months prior - to my therapist (who thought it was a funny situation, zero risk whatsoever, but technically a violation). I do agree that what your therapist may deem minor or insignificant in terms of violation can be used by a probation officer to rain brimstone and fire down upon you if it suits his/her agenda. If you run into someone who is dishonest/disingenuous in his/her dealings with you, your case has to be bulletproof. The fact your probation officer got caught, so to speak, was a lucky break for you.
Given that you say you have no or very little problem in "passing" polygraph exams, your best course of action is to shut up, buck up, and do your time like a good little sex offender. Is it fair? No, not by a long shot, but neither is what you did to your victim.
Thank you Mr. T.
While you have pulled no punches about your impressions of the system and your experiences, you've never equivocated about your own responsibility. Most of us are convinced there isn't any single issue which by itself causes someone to sexually assault another person - especially someone they are supposed to care about - it takes a sufficient combination of issues + access and opportunity. If you have managed to maintain some awareness of and manage the constellation of issues that led you to make the choice to offend, then you are perhaps giving your victim, family community and maybe even this website what they deserve and need from you. For that you deserve some respect.
Personal responsibility is the solution we are all hoping for, but that exists in authentic form only in the context of accountability to others. If sex offenders are going to read and post at this site, they should know that their message will be received with much more respect and credibility when it is coupled with clear statements of personal responsibility. Accountability to others exists, unfortunately, in the context of some minimal description of the circumstances and details. The alternative to personal responsibility is, of course, to cause chaos, blame others, and externalize all responsibility.
So, thanks Mr. T for setting that example here. It does no good to set low expectations around persons who are capable of harming others. I do not believe that people often succeed at faking like good little sex offenders. Do you?
Jester:
You would be wise to learn from Mr. T. He's pretty clear about the fact that he's a sex offender, and has even told this site about his crime. That cannot be easy, and I hope he's not proud of it (there are some things you're not supposed to be proud of). I also hope he's not blunted and calloused (that's the opposite of empathic) to its impact on his own sense of self, because any pretense at self-respect in the context of denial of harm to another human would simply be grandiosity, arrogance and narcissism (dangerous stuff).
Mr. T seems to know that the offense is the context for these other problems and experiences, and his statements indicated he hasn't neglected to think about what happened to the victim. Mr. T seems to know that fairness is a fallacy, and I would guess that he also knows that trust is not necessarily an objective of treatment. Trust is, after all, the Humpty-Dumpty of all problems – once shattered, all the kings horses and all the kings men... (HD was even warned of his recklessness and arrogance).
I would disagree with you Jester, Mr. T, or anyone else if they were to suggest that treatment or supervision for sexual offense crimes is in any way about retribution, serving one's time, or paying some “debt to society.” How does one repay the loss of innocence and safety? So, you ask, if its not about “fair” and not about “trust,” what's it about? Your treatment and supervision are about what do you need to learn about yourself, what does your victim and your community need from you, in terms of attitudes and behaviors, so that we can all be safe while you are living in the community. Safe does not equate trust. In fact, “safety” is sometimes inverse to our sense-of-safety and trust. Think about it. People who don't know anything about you or your crime might “feel” safe, because of what they don't know. On the other hand people who know of your crime might feel “less safe,” because of what they know, while they are actually safer because they know not to trust you under certain circumstances. Its paradoxical. If you don't get the joke yet, then you haven't spent enough time benefiting greatly (that's lawyer talk) from treatment. The joke is this: people will be safer and trust you more when you remind them that you are not safe and that they shouldn't trust you (under certain circumstances).
I'd also suggest you will not be making your ongoing polygraph experiences any easier by reading this site.
alright - enough sunshine.
Happy New Year everyone.
Be Safe.
r
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